Car driven at fight rivals

ANGRY driver Steven Ruddick tried to run over two men who got the better of him in a fight but missed and left an innocent man badly injured.

- By ROB KENNEDY

Ruddick had been left battered and bruised after coming off worst in a dispute that turned violent in Wallsend.

Ruddick, whose sister was murdered when he was a child, “over-reacted” and turned his car into a weapon as he deliberately drove at the two men. However, they moved out of the way and he instead crashed into a blameless man who was on a night out with friends.

The victim, a carer, was left with a double leg break, spent a week in hospital and was off work sick and struggling to make ends meet.

Now Ruddick, who later headbutted and spat at police officers, has evaded a prison sentence.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Ruddick was socialising at the Ship Inn pub, in Wallsend, on August 4, 2023, when he became involved in a dispute with two men. He left the pub and became involved in a physical altercation with the men, during which he was injured.

Ruddick then got in his car before turning around and driving towards the men. They moved out of the way and the car hit a man behind them who had nothing to do with the dispute and was oblivious to it.

The man suffered fractures to his tibia and fibula, which required surgery, and he still suffers pain.